Giving credit where credit is due!

Thank you everyone for your prayers and kind words! Thank you to the Doctors, Nurses and Staff at CHOA Egleston, Thank you GOD for your gracious response. And thank you St. Jude, to whom we’ve personally been praying to since JT was diagnosed with PNH in May 2008, and whose prayer “helps remind us that nothing is impossible with God, even help when you’re at your wit’s end.”


Our results from the biopsy on Wednesday concluded the gastritis that JT is experiencing is NOT caused by GVHD!!! What a huge relief for our entire family. What this means is he can begin to wean off the Cyclosporine, the immunosuppressant that we now believe may be triggering some of the negative side effects that JT is enduring right now. The wean will take approximately 8 ½ weeks putting us at the end of December. Once that is completed, our friend can start enjoying all the things most of us take for granted…going to the movies, eating in a restaurant like the new Menchie’s that just went in up the street, going to church, going to an amusement park with friends, picking apples and/or pumpkins, dare I say going to school, attending a football game, traveling to Grandma’s house, going to Target to pick up the latest & greatest video game, and even playing a little one on one b-ball with his neighbor buddies to name a few!

While we are far from out of the woods, this is a huge hurdle we’ve just jumped. In fact, just yesterday JT came down with Thrush in his mouth and added yet another mixture to his medicine cocktail! Today we were back in the clinic for labs and to get fluid IV’s. During all the prep treatment for his biopsy, he became dehydrated and has been feeling pretty bad. He’s having trouble eating as a result of this and appears to have lost all the weight he put on after he left the hospital. So he has some homework this weekend…eating and drinking! His blood counts will take some time working their way up to a normal range, but having had the PNH, JT is no stranger to low blood counts. We will continue to keep a close eye on these over the next several months to make sure he doesn’t develop any kind of infections.

Jim is on his way home from a 20 day trip to his employer in Wisconsin. I am so grateful that they have allowed him to work remotely during this stressful time and understand the face-time that was needed this month, but boy will the kids and I be glad to see him tonight, its been a long month! Today, I take a huge sigh of relief for the first time in over two years and give glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests (Luke 2:14) !

xo Sabrina